Adam Wake: Brothers in Light
by Andrew Eldridge
Summary: Seeking answers for the unexplained disappearance of his brother, Alan, Adam Wake has ventured to the sleepy town of Bright Falls. Consider this a spin-off, an alternative approach to the events after the initial Alan Wake adventure. My first FanFiction.
1. Arrival

**Adam Wake: Brothers in Light**

**PROLOGUE**

Seeking answers for the unexplained disappearance of his brother, Alan, Adam Wake has ventured to the sleepy town of Bright Falls. Alice and Barry returned to NYC some months prior, but were both deeply affected by their experience and were left mentally unstable as a result, unable to offer any assistance.

Consider this a spin-off, an alternative approach to the events after the initial Alan Wake adventure. This is my first Fan Fiction, and I don't have a beta reader, so reviews and comments would be much appreciated.

**CHAPTER ONE**

Adam gazed out across the restless, unforgiving lake, rolling involuntarily with the movement of the ageing barge, as large waves crashed and broke forcefully against the bow. The crossing from the mainland to the sleepy town of Bright Falls was already far worse than he had anticipated, and Adam clung to the railings tightly as a result; using every available muscle in his body to repel the encroaching feelings of nausea and uneasiness.

Bright Falls loomed dimly in the distance, a minimalist community of less than ten thousand residents, many of whom operated within the tight-knit society of the town centre. The wooden dock at Bright Falls was sparsely used, unmanned for eleven of the twelve months, and illuminated by a single hanging light, visible overhead. A lowly tarmac track ran from the edge of the dock inland, twisting and snaking around the curvature of the mountain leading towards the town, which was itself hidden from view. A thick layer of fog had recently descended from Mirror Peak, the picturesque mount range that straddled the town, and accompanied by the late hour, Adam had to strain his eyes significantly to make out anything during the slow approach.

It had been several months since Adam's brother, Alan, had been reported missing. His estranged wife, Alice, had returned from Bright Falls, accompanied by Alan's agent, Barry, yet both had changed dramatically for the worse. Their once bubbly, larger-than-life personalities had disappeared entirely, and each individual had been reduced to mere shells of their former selves. The transformation was evident by their frequent nightmares, and unexplainable, completely irrational fear of the dark, which had manifested itself into an admission, for the pair of them, at the renowned NYC mental institution.

Adam had been inseparable from his brother Alan throughout childhood, and the duo had remained extremely close during adult life, too. As such, Adam often questioned Alice and Barry, at length, about Alan's disappearance, during his weekly visits to the deeply disturbed pair at the institution. Yet instead of the answers he so desperately sought, Adam had been met with blank stares and dark, sullen eyes, on each and every occasion.

No matter what happened, he would always remember those eyes: as black as night, and entirely vacant of life. Quite what they had seen, Adam could not be sure, and he tried to avoid eye contact anyway during the visits. Rather understandably, the blank stares made him feel uneasy. And yet, even without eye contact, each visit was accompanied by a spine-tingling chill, and the distinct feeling that he was being watched by someone, or something.

Raising his hands before himself, Adam quickly buried his head into his palms, rubbing his over-worked eyes in a vain attempt to remain alert. It had been days since he had slept properly and, as such, the feeling of lethargy was ever present. In response to another lurch of the barge, Adam's hands quickly returned to the railings, as he let out a long, drawn out sigh. _"What am I doing here?_" he muttered below his breath, and rightly so.

The decision to visit Bright Falls had come about entirely on a whim. Adam felt that he had exhausted every possible avenue of questioning with both Alice and Barry, yet he still demanded answers, which the townspeople of Bright Falls may be in a better position to provide. That was his reasoning behind the unscheduled eleven-hour trip down here, at least.

At the time, catching the final barge of the day across the great expanse of Cauldron Lake, to Bright Falls, seemed almost lucky. As the waves began to crash against the vessel with increased vigour, though, Adam's sea sickness returned, and he began to reconsider. He had exchanged a brief conversation with the elderly captain of the small barge earlier, who had explained that very few people visited the town. And considering Adam was the sole passenger aboard a vessel that was questionably seaworthy, and displayed clear signs of neglect, he was inclined to believe him.

Adam pushed back against the wooden railing, using the momentum of his actions to turn his body towards his car. The sky had darkened considerably during the thirty minute crossing, but Adam could just about make out Bright Falls dock, no more than a minute away. Effortlessly opening the door, he slipped into the driver's seat – he had no intention of hanging around once the barge docked.

Moments later, followed by the loud clatter of machinery, a small wooden ramp lowered at the front of the barge, in preparation for the imminent docking procedure, and with the flick of a switch, Adam had illuminated the darkness before him with the soft glow of his car's headlights. No sooner had the barge touched the edge of the wooden dock, Adam engaged the engine and lurched forward, revving loudly as he approached the closing gap, the barge connecting with the dock mere moments before the front wheels made contact, much to the audible annoyance of the captain; he was used to impatient visitors, but this took the biscuit.

Fortunately, the captain had navigated the crossing countless times before, and even with the rough waters, he managed to dock the barge on his first attempt. Looking up in dismay, he watched as his sole passenger drove forward, with no care for the safe disembarking procedure he instilled in all passengers before departure. As the car wheels spun frantically, leaving considerably deep tyre marks in their wake, the captain yelled, raising his fist in anger. It was no use; the car was already more than fifty feet away.

As he continued to advance down the dock, Adam didn't look back once, despite the increasingly loud cursing and lewd gestures emanating behind him. Although he quietly hoped the captain would forgive his urgency when he returned at a later date to journey home, Adam didn't give it more than a seconds thought. After all, he was here to find answers, not to make friends.


	2. Darkness

**CHAPTER TWO**

The wind picked up as Adam advanced down the dock, the hanging light swinging considerably overhead, scattering illumination in every available direction. Adam had never been a fan of the dark, sharing a similar phobia to Alice, which had engulfed the conversation between them, in its entirety, during many of their meetings. In fact, thinking back, Adam new very little of the superficial stuff about Alan's wife, Alice, yet he could recall the deep complexities of her condition, and relate it to his own.

Trundling forward at a steady pace, so as not to upset the rickety wooden planks below, Adam was grateful for the vision provided by his car's headlights. Before long, he had reached the end of the wooden dock, and onto dry land, his nausea evaporating almost instantly.

Adam sighed deeply, as he pressed forward onto the accelerator, lining the car up with the lengthy trail towards town. He glanced at the road sign, then to his watch: _"Bright Falls, 10 miles"_, and _approaching 8:00PM_ respectively. Adam had scheduled to pick-up the keys to his cabin at nine, giving him an hour to reach his destination and explore, although he didn't expect much from a sleepy country town at night. With the flick of a switch, the radio crackled into life. A much appreciated audio accompaniment for the drive, Adam thought, as he continued to follow the curvature of the road, towards Bright Falls.

"_Bloody tourists..."_ muttered the captain below his breath, as he inspected the damage left, back at the barge, in Adam's wake. The decking was scorched with tyre marks, and the smell of burnt rubber lingered in the air like a fine mist.

The dock was completely empty, as per usual. This was a journey that the captain had made hundreds of times before, and twice already that day, so why did he feel so uneasy now? Rolling his shoulders, he turned back towards the barge controls; after all, there was little more he could do about the tyre marks. They would need scrubbing in the morning. Yet as the elderly gentleman engaged the reverse gear, the barge simply refused to move. He tried again and again, repeating the motion, with no avail.

With the controls still inoperable, the wind and waves continued to press down on the barge. But as he looked up, the captain could see that the hanging light of the dock stood still, as if the weather phenomenon had localised itself around his boat. Something certainly wasn't right here.

It was at that moment that the sky turned to black, and a visible darkness encroached upon the barge. The captain looked up from the controls as the light of the dock reflected a glimpse of sharpened steel moving steadily forward, onto the barge itself. It didn't take him long to recoil in shock, as he witnessed the true horror of what was before him.

A tall, dark figure stood planted firmly at the edge of the barge, seemingly unfazed by the high winds and rough waters. But what was perhaps more menacing than his presence, was the item that he held tightly in his hand, for the captain could now make it out: the glimpse of steel he had seen, reflected in the light, belonged to the sharpened blade of a hunting knife. As if he could sense the elderly captain's fear, the dark figure began to approach, slowly and methodically, his body almost entirely concealed by shadows, except for the fierce, burning red of his eyes, a truly diabolical glow that couldn't possibly emanate from a human.

"_Stay back!"_ the captain's voice trembled, completely void of authority and entirely representative of his current situation. Glancing desperately from left to right, his old eyes canvassed the back of the boat for a weapon, anything to help prevent the advance of his assailant. The best he could find was a pair of rusting scissors, decades old and worn from frequent exposure to the salt water of the lack. Nonetheless, he quickly took them into his hands, the feel of the cool metal against his skin offering little comfort given the situation.

By this point, the dark figure was upon him. He cried out in horror, striking forward with the scissors in a vain attempt to slow his attacker, but it was no use. Instead of finding their target, the scissors merely connected with the shadows, as if darkness itself was protecting the cloaked attacker. The captain had mere moments to consider this, though, before the strong, brutish figure before him raised his hand, brandishing the hunting knife, and quickly brought it down, connecting directly with the captain's neck.

"_The Taken..."_ The words almost danced through the air, as if they had been whispered by the wind itself. Whether this was describing his impending situation, or the dark figure before him, the captain couldn't be sure, but soon enough it wouldn't matter either way. He didn't stand a chance.

His old, tired body dropped to the floor, blood expelling forcefully from a severed artery. The shadowy figure was meticulous, though, and refused to cease his assault. He stood over the captain, repeatedly thrusting the sharpened blade into the elderly man's body, each additional wound helping to seal his fate.

As the captain took his last breath, his barge now awash with his blood, the shadowy figure dissipated into the darkness behind him, as if it was a spirit, or a ghost, that had temporarily taken on a human form. The captain's eyes became fixed, as his death rattle petered into non-existence. The climax of fatality was accompanied by the sudden blow of the light bulb powering the hanging light on the dock, plunging the entire area into complete darkness. The waters settled and the wind stopped, just as quickly as they had begun. The darkness had taken its prey.

There was something sinister at work in Bright Falls, something that preyed on the weak, and protected by the dark. The town was in danger, Alan had been in danger, and now Adam was, too. Was this what Alice had seen?


End file.
